A spontaneous trip up to Cora Lake via the Big Creek Trailhead of Forest Service Road 8420. Accessing from this trailhead makes Cora a pretty quick trip. My dog and I ended up doing just a hair over 3 miles but that’s because we ended up cruising around the lake. Trail was in excellent shape and the double creek crossings were an absolute breeze. You can easily cross without getting your feet wet. Much to my surprise, still some very ripe berries, at least in patches as soon as you see the lake. Even spotted a couple forest grouse. Any vehicle can make the drive up. Forest Service Road 84 has plenty of potholes but take your time and you’ll be fine. Forest Service Road 8420 was relatively smooth and much less potholes. Also saw a sign posted stating High Rock Lookout is still closed. I expect in a couple weeks, this area will have a blanket of snow. Happy Trails!

I really need to get a different car if I'm going to keep driving forest roads like FR84... my Camry is willing but feels the abuse! Oh, those potholes! We saw a bunch of people with buckets along the way; perhaps looking for mushrooms?

The first part of Big Creek Trail 252 (from the north TH) is riddled with loose rocks and rutted, but it soon improves. The crossings of Big Creek were easy this time of year, providing perfect mid-stream viewpoints for the falls. The lake was placid and lovely on an unseasonably warm day.

We hiked above the lake to the high point of Big Creek Trail 252 where we rested and enjoyed a snack, while talking to a young backpacker.

Another trip report mentioned the baby frogs. There were still quite a few of the adorable creatures, but not so many that we worried we were stepping on them.

We saw a few motorbike tracks along the trail, which blew my mind! The trail is rough and steep, and parts of it have a serious side-slope. I'll stick with my boots, thank you!

Hiked from Big Creek TH past Cora Falls and Cora Lake then onto Granite and Bertha May lakes. It was over 9 miles RT and 2300+ gain. No trees down, clear trail, but occasional deep ruts which I am guessing are from dirt bikes. Big Creek was low so it was fairly easy to keep dry feet while crossing but can see it being a challenge after a heavy rain. It was a nice hike with lots of toads still at the lake and all along the trail. The road to TH has lots of pot holes but manageable if going slow.

I was originally planning on hiking to Greenwood Lake, but the road to the High Rock trailhead was closed off so I decided to take the Big Creek Trail to Cora Lake instead. I didn't start until 10:30 because it was my first time in the area and I needed to drive back down to where there's internet in order to look up and pick a trail.

Anyway, I'm glad I picked this one. It was a pretty short hike, not just because it's not far to the lake, but because the trail was full of these tiny baby frogs. I love frogs! Most of the time there would just be one or two of them ahead of me and despite the fact that they camouflage perfectly with the trail all I had to do was watch my step. But every few hundred feet or so there would be dozens and it would make stepping over them safely challenging. By the time I reached the lake they were swarming. I was wanting to hike further down the trail, but with the slow going, constantly watching where I step and scaring all these poor little baby frogs half to death, I decided to call it and head back.

I didn't see any past trail reports mention this, so maybe I just lucked into the exact day that all the frogs were swarming. I'll probably stop by and check out this trail again in a few weeks when the road to High Rock opens back up just to see what's going on with the frogs. Regardless, it was a memorable hike and the lake was beautiful.

This hike offers excellent views from the ridge top, several waterfalls, deep forest and a scenic lake. The trail is in excellent condition. It is definitely worth the effort hike up to the ridge crest for views of Mt. Rainier.